Penn State Hockey Women's NCAA Division 1

On September 17, 2010, Penn State hockey in the NCAA became a reality when the Penn State Athletic Department announced that they will ice a women's hockey progam in the NCAA Division 1. The women's program started in 1996-'97 in the ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association). They made it to the ACHA Final Four in 2000-'01, six times to the National Tournament and in 1999 were the Mid-Atlantic Women's Collegiate (MAWCHA) champs.

On May 31, 2011 Josh Branwene was named the first Head Coach of the women's NCAA Varsity ice hockey team and on June 21, 2011, Coach Brandwene announced his assistants - Maurice Stromel and Gina Kearns.

On September 06, 2011, College Hockey America announced that Penn State will be part of the CHA - W when they start their season in 2012-'13.

On October 05, 2012 at 2:00pm the puck dropped for the opening faceoff vs Vermont. Penn State won its innaugural game 5-3 over Vermont at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.

The Penn State Athletic Department is extremely excited about adding women's ice hockey to sports at Penn State. With the help of Terry and Kim Pegula's gift to fund their state-of-the-art arena, the hockey program is looking forward to a successful season.